For the second year in a row, Adobe co-sponsored the Congressional Art Competition, an event that allows high school students from across the country to submit artwork ranging from drawings and paintings, to photography and computer generated designs. Each year since the competition’s founding in 1982, these high school student winners have descended on Washington, DC to be honored in a national recognition ceremony. This year, winners from 419 congressional districts attended the event in the U.S. Capitol and had the unique opportunity to see their own artwork displayed in the hallways of our nation’s Capitol building.

Adobe was honored to participate in the recognition program again this year to help celebrate the students’ creative talent and their artistic achievements. As we look to the next generation of leaders, creativity is proven to be an essential quality that will drive innovation and solve many of society’s existing problems. A key emphasis of the Congressional Art Competition is that innovation is a trait not limited to those in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math – fields such as engineering and programming. On the same note, creativity is not constrained only to those in the art world. Rather, the two concepts are increasingly interconnected: artists and creative professionals provide meaning, communicate ideas, and help us all see new solutions to persisting issues. To succeed, we must invest both in STEM and the arts in order to grow our economy and remain competitive as a nation. Creativity inspires hope, and these students will lead the kind of imaginative innovation that improves our lives and solves the novel problems we will face in the decades to come.

To further inspire self-expression and innovation, Adobe has provided each winner an opportunity to join the broader creative community with a free year-long subscription to Adobe’s Creative Cloud. I want to extend my warmest congratulations to all of the students who participated and shared their art with all of America. We can’t wait to see what you create next!

At the recognition ceremony with Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District Representative Bill Huizenga, Co-Chair of the 2014 Congressional Art Competition